NEWPORT
BEACH, CALIFORNIA, March 21, 2005—When heavy weather sailing
expert Zack
Smith was
presented with a somewhat unconventional testing request, he
approached it much
the same as he has hurricane-force winds:
He enthusiastically said “Let’s go!” And so he will. From
April 9 through April 10, Smith will take a 7-foot, 8-inch
service dinghy
called "The Pudgy" into the chilly,
choppy waters outside San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge
and
put it through the paces. And then some.

Created by David Hulbert, engineer and president of Pudgy, Inc., this dinghy is designed to do triple
duty as a sailing and motor dinghy as well as a rescue craft.
Most important,
the ultimate goal for the Pudgy is to do the
unthinkable: not capsize in heavy weather. Hulbert,
a
lifelong sailor and industrial designer who is accustomed to
refining airplanes and trains, wants
to create a craft that
will withstand heavy weather and diminish, if not completely
eliminate, injuries
and deaths associated with capsized life
rafts.

To accomplish his
goal, Hulbert turned to Smith for help. “I knew that I
needed an expert to help me conduct several real-life tests
to see how the Pudgy would perform. Having heard a lot about
the
Fiorentino parachute anchor, I wanted to see how the Pudgy would do
with and without one, as well.
So Zack was the man for the
job.”

Indeed. Smith, a
lifelong sailor and veteran of numerous heavy weather
experiences, has
spent the last ten years designing and
testing parachute anchors for public and military use. Smith
recently wrote and produced “The Complete Para-Anchor
Set-Up,” the first and only DVD that demonstrates how to rig
parachute anchors to a variety of vessels.

In the case of the
Pudgy,
Smith’s task is somewhat formidable. He will need to
be
able to deploy a parachute anchor that, when deployed,
creates enough underwater drag to pull the front of the
dingy into approaching waves to prevent it from capsizing.
Smith has already tested several prototypes, so he is
well
on his way to success.

Drift rates, wind
speed and wave heights will be recorded aboard a rescue boat
for later
analysis needed to help measure the performance of
both the parachute anchor and the Pudgy.While out on the
water, Smith also plans to conduct stabilization tests in
wave heights that
range between 10 and 16 feet in an attempt
to capsize the boat. Finally, he will attempt to board
the
Pudgy from the water without using a boarding ladder.

While Smith is no
stranger to life-threatening conditions, the U.S. Coast
Guard has expressed concern about this particular test
scenario, especially due to the strong currents and wave
patterns associated with the waters beyond the Golden Gate
Bridge. Despite this, the Coast Guard has
generously offered
optional test locations if the testing site proves too
dangerous.

Says Smith, “I’m not
worried about my safety for a couple of reasons: First, The
USCG in
Maryland has already completed
a buoyancy test on
the Pudgy and rated it at 1,875 lbs. before it
started to
submerge. Second, the Pudgy is a rotation-molded,
double-hulled boat that’s made from
a rugged polyethylene
hull that is impact- and puncture-resistant.” "In other words,”
Smith continued, “it can’t sink.”

Just in case the word
“Titanic” came to mind, be assured that a nearby rescue boat
with
divers will be on hand, just in case.

At press time, wave
tests for the Pudgy are scheduled for April 9 through April
10 at Point
Bonita just outside the San Francisco Golden
Gate Bridge. Approximate test hours: 1:00 to
6:00 P.M.
A video will be made available
to news media upon their completion. Zack will also
be
aboard the trawler "Sugaree," to answer questions before and
after the tests at Club
Nautique's Sausalito base.

Sailors also will have the opportunity to try out the Pudgy
for themselves—but in the calm
waters of the Pacific Sail Expo Show. The show, to be held April 13 through the 17, is
located
at the foot of the Oakland Estuary in Jack London
Square.